If my weight is going up, but my measurements stay the same...

jennifermaria

jennifermaria

Cathlete
... then what the heck is causing my weight to go up?? In the last 6 weeks, I've gained 7 pounds. Week after week, the number on the scale just keeps going up--I'm scared to weight myself now!

I'm stumped, y'all. At first, I thought it was muscle gain, but I don't think it's that--wouldn't I see SOME change in measurements, whether it's an increase (albeit temporarily, until my fat burning kicks in) or a decrease (when the fat-burning DOES kick in)? Also, I haven't been doing any heavy weight training at all in the last 6-7 months. It's all been very endurance-based--a lot of kettlebells and such. I'd be shocked if those build enough muscle for me to gain this much.

On the other hand, I don't think it's necessarily all fat, either. I'd see that in my measurements as well, or even in my appearance, although I haven't noticed much of a change in either.

I thought it could be water retention too, but I don't feel/look particularly swollen...

Ugh, I'm just really baffled. I know this is vanity talking because from all other indications, I'm healthy--heck, I'm even seeing some progress in the abs/core area since I stepped it up in core training and pilates--but it's just bugging me!

Any thoughts as to what this could be??
 
From your post I wonder if the KB is using different muscles along with your upping your ab core work too?

Perhaps the added cardio factor with KB's is helping reduce some fat while adding muscle. From what I read about KB's, you end up using muscles you haven't before with just standard weight training.

IA the # on the scale seems strange - but that is why they say go by measurements. Since you say they haven't changed, not sure I would worry too much.

If it was me, being that I am now getting older, I might just go have a physical if you haven't for a while just to have a doc view the changes. And I'd have bloodwork done. But that is just my opinion.
 
JenniferMaria,

I am experiencing the exact same thing!!! Two weeks ago I weighed 5 lbs. less than I do now. No major changes in diet or exercise. I've tried eating less, eating more, drinking gallons of water...nothing will make the scale budge. This morning I got on and was up another 1/2 pound. I thought it was PMS, but I have never gained this much from that, and I would think if it was PMS I would have my period by now.

If anyone out there can shed some light on this, I'd love to hear from you!
 
jennifermaria said:
... then what the heck is causing my weight to go up?? In the last 6 weeks, I've gained 7 pounds. Week after week, the number on the scale just keeps going up--I'm scared to weight myself now!

Any thoughts as to what this could be??
Click to expand...

You probably are gaining a lot of muscle you just can't see yet but my weight goes up and down in a 6lb range all the time. I'll weigh myself on Monday, gain 4 lbs overnight, gain 2 more pounds the day after and by Thursday, I'm one pound down from where I started! Obviously, I concur about the hormonal thing. I used to weigh myself every morning because I thought I could handle it but now once a week is about all the punishment I can stand. Don't beat yourself up about this. I even had to go up a size in my favorite jeans because they were getting tight across my mid-thigh (but loose everywhere else!). When you get serious about fitness your body changes in ways that surprise you throughout the journey.
 
7 lbs of water retention won't necessarily make you look puffy. It is possible that your muscles store more water due to maybe upping the intensity of your workouts, upping the weight of your KBs, do more cardio, introduce a new workout, etc.

Sometimes my body stores more water or I "gain" several pounds before it gets ready to drop a few pounds.

Have your doctor run some tests, it could be hormonal changes, thyroid problems or blood sugar imbalance. I would give it some time, keep a daily journal of what you eat and what kind of exercise you do. Maybe that helps you find the "culprit".
 
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Hi everyone,

2 weeks later, and I'm still steadily gaining a pound (or two) every week :(. The only changes I've made in my eating and exercise now have been to eat even more cleanly (is that even a word LOL?) than I usually do (I usually sneak in a few treats since I figure I'm burning a lot of calories with marathon training, but I've stopped doing that) and upping the weight training with heavier weights to build more muscle to burn more fat (as I mentioned, I'd been doing a lot of functional training, especially with kettlebells; I've switched back to more traditional gym style weight training). I've also upped my water intake since I've gotten REALLY slack with that. I figure I don't need to do much to my cardio since I'm training for a marathon and getting more than enough (and once a week, our training involves interval training, so it's not all steady state).

I'm doing all of the "right" things and yet instead of my weight fluctuating up and down--or even remaining STEADY--it keeps creeping up and up and up. I've also now gained a 1/2 inch in my waist and hip area, which is not a lot, but is showing me that even my measurements are now being affected.

I'm going to make an appointment with my doctor, but I'm afraid she's going to tell me that because of my age and lifestyle, I'm relatively "fit" and that I shouldn't worry about anything. But for me, what's worrying is the trend, not so much the absolute numbers. I mean yes, if you looked at my current weight and measurements, you'd say it's within the normal range. But if I told you that I've gained 8 pounds and 1/2 inch in the waist and hip area in 8 weeks, wouldn't you think that's a little... well, accelerated? Or maybe that is normal and I'm just panicking for no reason.

It's just really hard for me to believe this is all muscle that I've gained, since it's soooo hard for me to gain muscle, but I also can't believe this is all fat that I've gained because my measurements would have really shown that. Ugh. If my doctor can confirm I don't have some sort of thyroid issue or any other kind of health issue, then I'll relax more. It's annoying, but something I can live with, as long as I know I'm living a healthy lifestyle and can still wear the same clothes. But I just have a really weird feeling that something else is afoot and I'm hoping I'm just being paranoid :(.
 
I'm glad you're going to check with your doctor. I agree with you - it does seem strange that the scale numbers keep moving up, and it sounds like you are doing all the right things! Have you had your body fat tested recently? If you doctor doesn't find anything physically wrong, perhaps you should have it tested now, then again in 4-6 weeks. See what the trend is there.

I do know that when you work your muscles really hard, or in a totally different way than what they're used to, they will retain glygocen/water to help the repair process. I know when I started using kettlebells I felt muscles that I didn't even know I had, and I'd been training seriously with heavy weights for years.

Hang in there, and keep us posted on what you find out from the doc.
 
Thanks!

I emailed my doctor so I could give her a heads up about making an appointment, but as with many folks, she's out of town right now, so I'll have to wait until she gets back next week. Hopefully she'll have an opening next Friday!
 
I was able to get an appointment for two weeks from now, whew. Gotta just relax till then. I also made an appointment with my gynecologist--the last time something remotely like this happened to me, I had developed an ovarian cyst that grew to the size of a football and had to be removed :(. I didn't feel any pain from that then, though, and I'm not feeling any pain right now, so it's hard to tell whether I'm reaching at straws or whether it could be the same thing again.

Anyway... thanks for the support, guys! Hopefully nothing is wrong and I'm worried for nothing.
 
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